After the opening match of this three-match series was abandoned without a ball being bowled on Sunday, the second game takes place in Mohali and India will be looking to ensure their momentum from the West Indies series continues here.

Their squad for this series has seen the selectors and Virat Kohli go with bowlers who have the ability to bat as they have identified a weakness in the depth of their batting which is why Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja are expected to get more playing time ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.

There remain several positions up for grabs ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup, but even just looking at the players not in the squad like Dhoni and Bumrah shows just how deep their options are to choose from.

SOUTH AFRICA

The washout of the opening T20 match on Sunday meant that Quinton de Kock has had to wait to make his debut as the new T20 captain along with the likes of Bavuma, Anrich and Linde who await their debuts.

With the weather forecast to be significantly better, those players are expected to get their chances here as there will be plenty of new faces as they kick off a new era in T20 cricket for the national team.

There will be plenty of expectation and weight on the shoulders of star man Kagiso Rabada with the ball who was the leading wicket-taker in the IPL earlier this year, while Anrich Nortje has excited many and he will be eager to make an impact after missing the World Cup through injury.

THE PREDICTION

Both of these sides are experimenting in this series with plenty of new faces being given an opportunity to impress as the first preparations are made ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup. India clearly have such major depth and quality that they can rest some key members yet still field an incredibly strong team. The same cannot quite be said of the tourists however and while they will compete hard, Virat Kohli’s men should be too good for them all round.

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